Don't Judge A Book By It's Cover
by Faerie Corpse
Summary: After struggling through the first eleven years of her life being shunned by the rest of the wizarding world with her single father, CarrieAnne finally gets to attend Hogwarts. It's not all she imagined it to be.
1. Chapter 1

My father and I stepped through the barrier at Platform 9¾ together. Noise filled my ears as I glanced around in awe. Hundreds of students milled about, meeting up with old friends and saying good-byes to their parents. Having spent most of my life hiding from the rest of the wizarding world, I was fascinated by all of these people. We moved to the train and my dad loaded my trunk onto the first compartment we came to. I looked up at him to say good-bye and saw him glancing around nervously. I was used to this by now; he did it every time we were in public, as though he were afraid that someone would discover us, discover what we were, discover our biggest secret. He had been like that ever since my mother's death when I was eight.

"Daddy," I whispered and he looked quickly back at me, surprise evident on his face. For a second, he had forgotten that I was there. "Will you write to me all the time?"

"Every day, sweetheart. If you're scared you don't have to go if you don't want to. I can keep you at home with me." He gazed at me steadily, trying to persuade me to do so. He had been trying to change my mind about Hogwarts since I was ten, but I had wanted to go for as long as I could remember. I shook my head no and saw the fear in his eyes.

"You always told me how much you loved Hogwarts and now I'm finally old enough to go. Please, daddy, don't be scared. I'll be fine. I can take care of myself." He grinned and wrapped me tightly in his arms. As he held me he whispered into my hair, "You're just like your mother. You're right, you should go, she would've wanted you to."

I could hear the strain in his voice as he spoke. He rarely talked of my mum, it was too painful for either of us to do so, but I can only imagine how much worse it was for him. I started to reply but a cold voice spoke loudly behind us causing my father to release me immediately. He straightened up and I noticed his hand dart inside his robes, most likely holding tightly to his wand, as he turned around.

A small family stood there; the man was tall with white-blond hair and as he spoke to his son, his voice sent chills down my spine. His wife said nothing, she simply looked as if she were going to cry, having to say good-bye to her young son. I turned my attention to him last, and as I did so he glanced back at me, his gray eyes burning into mine. We stared at each other for a second, but as a loud whistle sounded he turned his attention back to his parents. The whistle seemed to snap my father back to reality, for he too had been staring at the family.

"Have a good term. I'll see you at Christmas, sweetheart." He hugged me again, but this time it was brief, he was too distracted.

I climbed onto the train, but leaned out the window to wave at him one last time. "I love you, dad!" I said as I blew him a kiss. After repeating the sentiment he turned and hurried away from the train, back toward the station. I looked down the hallways of the train at the many students hurrying to find friends and places to sit. Most of them ignored me so I stepped into the compartment where my trunk was and collapsed against the seat. No one else was in there. As the train began to pull away from the station, I thought of my father hurrying home to the empty house, to be by himself for an entire term. Loneliness washed over me; this was the first time I had ever been away from home and I wasn't sure how I would survive it.

A few students opened the door to the compartment but closed it again as soon as they saw me. I scooted over to sit right next to the window, leaving the rest of the seat empty in case someone wanted to sit here. Even if they ignored me it would be better to have someone in there. I had never before had friends and I wondered what it would be like to finally get to meet kids my own age, perhaps even have one of them like me. Just as I was thinking of how horrible it would be to go through all seven years of my schooling alone, the compartment door opened yet again.


	2. Chapter 2

Three boys entered, two of them flanking the smallest like bodyguards. I immediately recognized the middle as the boy with steely gray eyes that I had seen before with his parents. Once again, he stared at me for a minute before motioning for the other two to sit down. They obeyed, filling the seats closest to the door, one on either side of the compartment. They watched as the blond stepped closer to me, a wide smirk covering his face.

He sat down opposite me, still staring at my face, trying to assess my reaction of him and my friends. "Hi," I said quietly, trying my hardest not to sound completely intimidated by them. He nodded but didn't reply so I tried again to engage him in conversation. "I'm Carrie-Anne."

"Draco," he replied. He pointed at his two friends and said, "And this is Crabbe and Goyle." Neither of them seemed to hear the introduction though they continued to watch us intently.

I turned to look out the window at the passing countryside. His continuous staring was starting to unnerve me. Trying hard to ignore him, I set about in my mind for a logical explanation for his seemingly unending interest in me. Perhaps he, like myself, had felt some strange connection when he looked at me. It was something that I just couldn't explain, something that drew me inexplicably to him. Whatever it was it kept him looking at me for several minutes, intimately searching every detail of my face. This both scared and fascinated me. I didn't know how to respond to this so I continued to stare out my window until out of the corner of my eye I saw him finally turn away from me. I took the opportunity to look back at him. An arrogant smirk still played across his face, but his steely gray eyes remained cold. His skin was pale, almost the same color as his white-blond hair. I could tell him from the looks of him that this was a child who was used to being well taken care, very spoiled and more than likely very wealthy. I didn't know whether to feel jealousy or pity. I grew up with very little money, because my dad was pretty much unemployable, but I know that he loved me beyond anything else in this world and that was enough for me. I had a feeling that his parents never showed him nearly as much affection as mine had, at least not his father.

He must have felt my gaze on him, because he turned back to face me once again. "Carrie-Anne, do you have any idea what house you'll be put into?" he asked, his cold drawl mesmerizing to me, making me want to hang onto his every word. I shook my head minutely, waiting for him to continue. "Well, of course you don't, no one really does. I just know I have to be in Slytherin. My whole family has been." His chest swelled up importantly as though this was the most important announcement he could have ever made. "What about your parents? They did attend Hogwarts, right?"

"Of course they did. My mother was in Ravenclaw," I said quickly, dropping my head. I wasn't ashamed of this, I just didn't want to talk about her any more than I had to. "And my dad was in Gryffindor." I took immense pride in this, because it showed how brave my dad was. Of course, he had to be in order to live with what he did. When I looked back up I was surprised to see disgust cross Draco's face for one fleeting second. Quickly, he composed himself, settling his now familiar sneer back into place.

Before he could say anything in reponse, though, the compartment door was opened and a short, plump witch looked in, pushing a cart piled high with treats. Crabbe and Goyle glanced at it greedily and immediately bought themselves something to eat. Draco, however, took his time walking to her and made a bit of a show pulling out his gold as he told her what he wanted. Over in the corner, I turned my head away, my stomach aching with hunger. I had not eaten since the morning before, because my dad had used the last little bit of money we had to buy my school books and to make sure that I wouldn't have to show up for my first day of school wearing tatty, secondhand robes. "Anything for you, my dear?" I heard a sweet voice call to me, but I shook my head without turning to look at her. A second later, I heard her rumbling up the hall and the compartment door was sliding closed again.

Draco sat back down across from me, plowing hungrily into his food. I tried hard not to look at him as he ate, but couldn't help myself. It was just too much for me. After a glance at my face, I could tell that Draco knew how I was feeling. He stood up and moved to sit next to me, but sat so that he was only half on the seat with his back to his friends. He placed a cauldron cake into my lap and smiled at me, the first real smile I had yet seen on him. "You can have as many as you want," he whispered, just loud enough for me to hear him. I took a small bite, savoring the sweet taste and watched as he glanced over his shoulder. I had a feeling he didn't want his friends to see this touch of kindness that he was showing me.

We spent the rest of the trip to Hogwarts that way; Draco sitting next to me, his back to his friends, who were ignoring us anyway, sharing his sweets with me. Conversation flowed really easily between us and I felt as if I could talk to him about anything. For the first time in my life I felt accepted by someone other than my parents. Happiness exploded inside me, I had finally made a friend. It felt like there was nothing in the world that could change this, nothing that could damage this bond that we had created together.


	3. Chapter 3

As we filed into the Great Hall after the long, cold ride across the lake, I looked around me in astonishment. I had never seen a place so big. This room alone could have held at least ten of my house in it, if not more. The four long house tables were crowded with older students all jostling each other, trying to get a better look at the first years. We lined up in front of the staff table while Professor McGonagall placed a worn hat upon a small stool in front of us.

All throughout the hall the noise ceased immediately as every student stared at the battered hat. I, too, turned toward it, trying to see what everyone else found so interesting. A small hole near the brim opened wide and the hat began to sing. Even though I had grown up with magic this was something that was entirely new to me. Listening intently to the words of the song, I turned to my left to gauge Draco's reaction to the singing hat. As it sung about Slytherin his grin grew even wider and he turned and winked at me, causing me to grin back.

When the song had finished McGonagall pulled out a scroll of parchment and glanced down at it. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." She looked around at us, making sure that we all understood what we were supposed to do.

She moved down the list alphabetically and the students moved forward one by one, most of them looking just as nervous as I felt. Some students were placed the second the hat was placed on their head while others sat there for several minutes before the hat made its declaration. "Lupin, Carrie-Anne." It was a second before I realized that she had gotten to my name already. Draco gave me a little nudge and I smiled at him nervously before stepping forward and sitting on the stool.

I felt a little flutter in my stomach as the hat was placed gently on my head. It fell down past my eyes and immediately started talking, though only I could hear its voice. "Mmm, many good qualities. Bravery beyond your years and great ambition, you have a need to prove yourself. Ah, and what an excellent mind you have. That is by far your greatest quality. Ravenclaw!" The hat called out the last word so that the entire hall could hear it. The table second from the left exploded with cheers. Many students stood up to welcome me as I hurried to sit down. When I was seated I looked back up at the rest of the students waiting to be sorted.

Draco was looking straight ahead, a weird expression on his face, somewhere between disappointment and sadness. I tried to catch his eye but he wouldn't even look my direction. "Malfoy, Draco," the teacher called and he swaggered forward, his familiar sneer now back in place. I felt my heart sink as the hat called out Slytherin before it really touched his head.

It wasn't his house that bothered me; it was his last name. My father had told me all about the Malfoys and what terrible wizards they were. I knew how much he hated them and I also knew in that instant that I would never be allowed to be friends with Draco. My dad would never allow it; it could ruin my relationship with him. I felt my heart crumble inside me. I had already lost the first friend I'd ever made, just a few hours after meeting him. I felt sick to my stomach and I was so lost in myself that I didn't even pay attention as the headmaster stood and gave us a speech. Without warning, at least for me, the golden dishes on the table in front of me filled with food. As hungry as I was, I couldn't bring myself to eat any of it.

The people around me were talking loudly but I didn't hear anything anyone said. At least not until the girl next to me tapped me on the shoulder, snapping me out of my reverie. "How about you? Were either of your parents in Ravenclaw? Both of mine were." I tried to speak but the words kept getting stuck in my throat. Misinterpreting my silence, she quickly spoke again. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. Are you Muggle-born?"

"No, no, you didn't offend me. I'm sorry, I was just a bit distracted," I assured her, pasting a fake smile on my face. "My mum was in Ravenclaw and my dad was in Gryffindor," I explained to her, trying to keep my concentration on the words I was speaking. She kept talking to me but I just nodded in response, not having the energy to talk any longer. A hollow laugh sounded from the table to the right of us; I looked up immediately recognizing the sound. Draco was sitting snugly between Crabbe and Goyle, laughing at something someone ha told him. He must have felt my gaze on him because he turned to face me, all traces of a laugh gone. His eyes bore into mine and that same sad, desperate look filled them. I knew he was thinking the same thing I was; that we could never be friends. I wondered though if he hurt nearly as much as I did. He gave me a tiny attempt at a smile before turning back to his friends.

Just as I turned away from him I heard the girl that had been talking to me say, "Oh, I'm Mandy, by the way. That was terribly rude of me not to introduce myself."

"Quite all right," I insisted, the fake smile back on my face. "I'm Carrie-Anne." As soon as I had spoken the girl across from us reached her hand over the table for mine. I shook it as she said, "I'm Lisa Turpin." She then shook Mandy's hand as she continued in her sugary-sweet voice. "I didn't mean to interrupt you two. I just couldn't resist the opportunity to make a couple of friends. You guys don't seem too bad." Her outspoken nature made me smile for real and it made Mandy laugh. The three of us talked for the rest of the meal. As excited as I was at making two new friends I almost forgot about my predicament with Draco. Almost.


	4. Chapter 4

Classes began the next day and weren't nearly as difficult as I had imagined they would be. I sat next to Mandy and Lisa in all of my classes and we quickly became good friends. Wednesday brought our first ever Defense Against the Dark Arts class. This was the class that I had been waiting for, but unfortunately it turned out to be a bit of a joke. Professor Quirrell, our teacher, was terrible; he seemed to be scared of everyone and everything.

The only good thing about that class was that we had it with the Gryffindors. This was our only class with them so it was the first chance I'd really had to see Harry Potter. I knew everything there was to know about him and his parents, because my dad had been best friends with his dad before he was killed. Anxious though I had always been to meet him, I found that as I was sitting there in the same room with him, I suddenly didn't want to. I wasn't entirely sure how he would react to meeting his father's best friend's daughter. The idea also hit me that he might know my dad's secret and I didn't want him spreading it around. Thus, I made my decision to stay away from Harry Potter as much as possible.

Herbology was perhaps the worst class for me. I hurried through the doorway, my two friends on either side of me and took a place at the long table set in the middle of the greenhouse. Glancing up, I suddenly found myself face to face with none other than Draco Malfoy. A barely audible gasp escaped my throat, though it was loud enough to cause him to look at me. This was the first time I had seen him since the feast on the first night of school.

He just looked at me for a second, and I could tell that he was feeling the same way I was. I wanted to say hi to him, to be his friends but at the same time I knew I couldn't do it. So I settled for a small smile, which he briefly returned, the hurt evident in his grey eyes.

My favorite class was Charms. It was by far my best subject. The teacher was Professor Flitwick, head of Ravenclaw house. My first day in that class he called roll just like all of the other teachers had, but when he reached my name he paused for a second looking thoughtful. "Lupin. I know that name," he mused quietly. "Ah. Are you by any chance Remus and Olivia's daughter?" I nodded, unsure of whether this was going to be a good or bad thing. "Oh, I just loved your mother. She was top of her class when she was here and she simply excelled at Charms! She went on to become a healer, am I correct?" I nodded again, this time a little less apprehensive. "Now we shall just have to see if you can equal her talents, though I am sure that won't be much of a problem.

It turned out that it wasn't a problem at all. Professor Flitwick was constantly finding things to compliment me on and at the end of our lessons I always had less homework than everyone else because of how well I had done during class.

Transfiguration wasn't quite so easy for me at first, but I caught on rather quickly. I wasn't always the best in those lessons but I always tried my hardest. Besides, they were loads of fun with my new best friends sitting at my side. Professor McGonagall, who at first seemed really stern, was actually very nice as long as you didn't mess around in her class. She also remembered my parents and spoke of how excellent they had both been in her class, but unlike Flitwick she didn't show favoritism.

If it hadn't been for Professor Snape, I would have loved Potions class. He had been in the same year as my parents when they attended Hogwarts and he had hated them both for entirely different reasons. My mother was a Muggle-born and like most Slytherins he believed her to be inferior to him because of this. My father's best friends, James and Sirius, had been mortal enemies of Snape during their time at school, thus causing my father to also be hated by him. He took this latent hatred for my parents out on me during class in many different ways. My potions were excellent, but he found things wrong with them, even if there was really nothing. I was constantly losing points from him, usually because I had annoyed him, though he always had some other reason for it. He also tried his hardest to humiliate me, though this didn't usually work because even though he didn't know it, I was tougher than anyone I knew, except perhaps my own dad.


	5. Chapter 5

Though Mandy and Lisa quickly became my best friends, I also made a lot of others. It was surprisingly easier than I had thought it would be. In the middle of September I met Hermione Granger, a girl like me in many respects. We were both in the library, being overzealous about our homework as per usual, when we reached for the same book. Laughing, I released my grip on it and said, "You take it, I can finish the essay tomorrow. Or I could probably write it without the book," I added as an afterthought.

"I probably could too, but why waste this information?" she asked, grinning. "We could work on it together." We sat down at an empty table, the book open between us while we both finished our essay for Defense Against the Dark Arts. I really liked her and apparently she felt the same about me because we became instant friends. Many afternoons and weekends we spent together in the library, working on homework or just talking about new books that we had read. Immediately I noticed one big difference between us. Though we both had the same thirst for knowledge and had read many of the same books, I did not share my knowledge as freely or as often as she did. I was slightly shy; greatly cautious of the fact that somebody could discover my secret if I drew too much attention to myself. Because of this, she was known as a know-it-all and I was spared that _wonderful _nickname. That is also how she beat me into the spot as the top of our year.

My father wrote to me almost daily and I always responded immediately. He spoke of how he had been able to get little odd jobs every now and again, mainly working for Muggles, so that he was able to support himself and put a little bit away into Gringotts for my later years at Hogwarts. In my letters I told him about my new friends, especially Mandy and Lisa, but I specifically avoided mentioning Draco. Though slightly surprised that I hadn't been put into Gryffindor, he was very happy to hear that I was at least a Ravenclaw. Once again, he mentioned how very much like my mother I was, which prompted me to tell him what Professor Flitwick had said.

As the end of the month drew nearer, I became very wary of what would happen to me, and more importantly, of what would happen to the students and teachers around me. When I was at home, it wasn't quite as dangerous because our home was on the edge of a great forest and far from any other dwellings. I had spent countless nights in that forest, avoiding the rest of humanity during that dangerous time every month. But now that I was at school, I knew that everything would be different and I had no idea how to handle it. Worrying desperately about what I should do, I distractedly said goodbye to Hermione as I left the library one afternoon. The thought quickly came to me that I should write and ask my father what to do about it. Surely he would know.

Thinking of nothing else, I hurried to my common room as fast as I could. Unfortunately, this caused me to not pay attention to where I was going. Halfway along the fourth floor corridor, I bumped into something small, sending my books flying in all directions. Groaning, I looked down to see what I had walked into. The noise died in my throat as I stared at my Charms teacher. "Oh, Professor, I am so sorry," I blubbered, bending to gather up my books.

"Do not worry, my child," he said kindly as he waved his wand, causing all of the books to soar into his hands. He handed them back to me and spoke again in his squeaky voice. "In fact, I was just looking for you, Miss Lupin. I've just come from the common room. Where have you been?" he asked a little sternly.

"The library," I whispered, hoping I wasn't in any trouble. My face burned as I tried to avoid looking at him.

"Ah, of course. I should have known," he said gently, noting how embarrassed I was. "Well, come along, we must hurry. The headmaster is waiting for us." He began walking away from me as he spoke.

Too stunned to move I stood there a moment, watching him walk away from me. The headmaster? What could Professor Dumbledore possibly want with me? As he began to round a corner ahead of me, I quickly caught up with him, my mind still reeling. I tried to think over the past few weeks since school had started but I couldn't think of a single thing that I had done wrong. There wasn't anything, because I was a model student. Neither of us spoke as we moved through the nearly deserted corridors. Professor Flitwick stopped in front of a large stone gargoyle and said something but I was too focused on my own thoughts to hear the words. The gargoyle sprung aside, revealing a spiral stone staircase that I followed the professor onto. It moved slowly upward, depositing us in front of a thick wooden door.

The door opened of its own accord as we reached it and Flitwick motioned of me to go through. As I stepped inside, I stared around me in awe. Professor Dumbledore's office was magnificent. It was a small, circular room filled with strange devices; I could have stayed there for days examining them. I spun around slowly, trying to take it all in at once. I had almost made it completely back around when something out of place caught my eyes, causing me to spin back quickly to look at the place again.

Standing next to Professor Dumbledore, looking rather shabby compared to the brilliantly dressed wizard, was my father. "Daddy!" I cried as I ran to him. He held his arms out and picked me up in an almost bone-crushing hug. "What are you doing here?" I asked as he set me back down. I was excited and slightly breathless as I stared up into the face of the person I loved most in the world.


	6. Chapter 6

"Well, you and I have some very important issues to discuss with Professor Dumbledore." He led me to a chair in front of the massive desk then sat in the one beside it as the headmaster did so on the other side. I looked around to see where Flitwick would sit and saw him conjuring chairs from nowhere with his wand. He conjured one not only for himself but also for Madam Pomfrey who had just entered the office.

"Your father tells me that you have inherited some rather undesirable traits from him," Professor Dumbledore said, causing me to look back at him.

"I didn't inherit them." My retort was interrupted by Dumbledore's stern voice.

"The circumstances of how this came about are not important. What is important is how we solve this little problem." I glanced at my father and saw that he looked very relieved that I had been stopped from blurting out that terrible secret. On the other hand, I was not. Here I was being discussed as a problem, when it wasn't even my fault that I was this way. My earlier worry had been replaced by anger. "We should like to keep you and all of your fellow students safe," Dumbledore continued calmly, despite seeing the anger on my face. "

"Now, Madam Pomfrey has kindly offered to take you down to the Shrieking Shack every month. You must be in her office long before dark on the day of your transformation." Dumbledore gazed sternly at me as he instructed me. I knew that the Shrieking Shack was where my father had gone during his transformations while he was in school and I was very excited to finally see it. "Now, Miss Lupin, we are finished here. If you would please head back to your common room, I have some things I need to discuss with your father."

"But daddy," I moaned, pleading with him with my eyes. I didn't want to leave him once again.

"No, Carrie-Anne, you will do as the headmaster says. I will see you in just a few months time." He spoke calmly but his eyes showed the same sadness that I felt. "Just be a good girl and listen to your professors. And keep up with your studies. I love you," he whispered as he pulled me out of my chair and into his arms.

"I love you too," I whispered back, tears threatening to spill from my eyes. I had never been alone for a transformation before and I was petrified. Wordlessly, I kissed him on the cheek before I finally released him and walked to the door, which opened before I reached it. I noticed as I stepped back into the corridor that both Professor Flitwick and Madam Pomfrey had followed me out of the office. "Good night," I said somberly as I turned to make my way back up to Ravenclaw tower. They didn't reply because they were already walking away in the opposite direction, talking quickly and quietly. There was no doubt in my mind that they were talking about me, but I found that I suddenly didn't care.

The common room was nearly empty when I entered, as it was now quite late. My visit had taken longer than I had thought. Over in the corner I spotted Mandy and Lisa waiting anxiously. They jumped up as soon as they saw me come through the door. Mandy reached me first and spoke quickly, worrying filling her soft voice. "Where have you been? You couldn't have been in the library this entire time."

I shook my head but didn't say anything as Lisa continued for her, "If you stay out this late you're sure to get into trouble, Carrie." She paused for a second, staring at my face. "What happened to you? You look terrible." Once again, her very outspoken nature surprised me so much it nearly made me laugh out loud. I had been in such a foul mood that I had forgotten what she could be like.

"I haven't been feeling very well. I've just been to see Madam Pomfrey down at the hospital," I said quietly. One look at their faces showed me just how much this increased their worry over me. Their concern touched my heart so I quickly reassured them, "I will be just fine in a few days. Please do not fret over me." I smiled, trying to put them at ease. "Come on, let's get to bed. I'm so very tired." The three of us headed up to the dormitories together, the two of them still shooting furtive glances at me when they thought I wouldn't notice. It hit me again, for perhaps the thousandth time, how great it was to have friends, especially real ones who truly cared about me.


End file.
